Speaking of complications, I moved my entire blog to Blogger Beta two days ago in hopes that I could finally upload the photos I'm dying to post since last week. It seems that my journal provider is still in the process of identifying and fixing bugs, which obviously, is still apparent in the new format. However, I have to commend the new features they have for the Beta Version. One such improvement is that before, a blogger must have at least a little knowledge about htmls in order to make their blogs a little interactive. Now, with just a mere drag of buttons (or cue cards for that matter), everything simply organizes on the side bar.
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The deadline for the "Project Railroad" has been moved. Instead of submitting the essay on September 1st, I volunteered to take the September 12th slot for my submission. However, as of "press time" no such article has ever been started. Even the "lead paragraph," which is supposed to give an opening salvo to pages-long Feature Story hasn't ever been concieved yet.
Is it because my muses are on vacation again? Or I am just too lazy to start thinking how to start my story? Either way, I have to write my essay soon. This Project Railroad will spell my retention or dismissal in the Creative Writing Masters Program.
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This morning, I saw in PDI's frontpage its banner about NPAs extorting money from local businessmen. In Rep. Etta Rosales' priviledge speech in Congress, she said that a unit of the New People's Army in Negros threatens local enterprises who fails to pay "Revolutionary Taxes" to the party. Apparently, a local exporter of Muscovado (Brown) Sugar failed to pay its dues and as a consequence, the said local unit burned the exporter's sole delivery truck for not heeding to their demands.
"It's attempt at extorting money from reputable organizations, whose aim is to help the poor, is downright gangsterism and hypocritical... In this war, nobody wins and it is the innocent and unarmed civilians who suffer... The NPA cannot and should not display behavior that runs contrary to its self-proclaimed role of being the people's protector."
These very passages which Rep. Rosales said in her speech changed my views about NPAs overnight. Who would have thought that such supposed-to-be-honorable organization has the nerve to do such horrendous acts. I know that they require local companies operating in their areas of control pay "Revolutionary Taxes" which are to go back to the local people. But doing retribution at the expense of the people whose hopes are with them is rather unthinkable.
They said that a great purge happened in the Communist Party a long time ago. Tens of thousands of NDF party members were summarily executed out of the party leadership's fear that the military had already infiltrated its ranks. The witch hunt went on until the party itself split into two: The Rejectionist and the Reactionist. With respects to those who are with the underground, I would not attempt to define the two factions, all I know is that the Rejectionists are the more moderate between the two.
Unfortunately, my sister still doesn't believe that the organization she belongs to hasn't been loyal to its ideals in the past. And the reason why the news banner today caught my attention is because I want to show her how she was mislead by her superiors by believing that their student activism would lead to something better - for everyone.
The next time she threatens my mom to run away and head for the mountains, I'd slap her with the front page banner today.
It's time for her to know that the very principles she's fighting for in the streets are the ones violated by her own organization.
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Representative Rosales' expose, plus the positive news banner which hails a stronger peso exchange rate today would surely please Malacanang even more. Even the opposition which used to hold a strong lead in the national surveys are slowly losing the confidence of ordinary people like me.
With the NPA's image already shattered, who would stop the military and the police from performing its operations against the insurgents?
Personally, as long as I hear my sister praise Mao Zedong and Stalin; as long as my mom confides to me that my sister has joined another rally again, against our orders; and as long as she tells me how good her cause is, despite the fact that by heart, her materialistic, artsy nature overrules her,
I wouldn't care what the government do with the communist rebels and my impression of student activism would remain negative.
Besides, These insurgents have existed for decades, but have we really felt any change?
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